[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 55 (Friday, March 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16078-16081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05725]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XV179]
Notice of Availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Draft Restoration Plan/
Environmental Assessment #5: Living Coastal and Marine Resources--
Marine Mammals and Oysters
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and a Consent Decree with BP
Exploration & Production Inc. (BP),\1\ the Deepwater Horizon Federal
natural resource trustee agencies for the Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group (Louisiana TIG) have prepared a Draft Restoration
Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA #5): Living Coastal and Marine
Resources--Marine Mammals and Oysters. The Draft RP/EA #5 proposes
restoration project
[[Page 16079]]
alternatives considered by the Louisiana TIG to restore natural
resources and ecological services injured or lost as a result of the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Louisiana TIG evaluated these
alternatives under criteria set forth in the OPA natural resource
damage assessment regulations, and also evaluated the environmental
consequences of the restoration alternatives in accordance with NEPA.
The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the availability
of the Draft RP/EA #5 and to seek public comments on the document.
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\1\ Consent Decree among Defendant BP Exploration & Production
Inc. (``BPXP''), the United States of America, and the States of
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas entered in In
re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ``Deepwater Horizon'' in the Gulf of
Mexico, on April 20, 2010, MDL No. 2179 in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
DATES: The Louisiana TIG will consider public comments received on or
before April 20, 2020.
Public Webinar: The Louisiana TIG will conduct a public webinar on
April 8, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. Central. The public may register for the
webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4511405465865527821. After registering, participants will receive a
confirmation email with instructions for joining the public webinar.
The webinar will include a presentation of the Draft RP/EA #5 and
opportunity for public comment. The presentation slides will be posted
on the web shortly after the public meeting is completed. Comments will
also be taken through submission online or through U.S. mail (see
Submitting Comments below).
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: You may download the Draft RP/EA at:
http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana.
Alternatively, you may request a CD of the Draft RP/EA #5 (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below). Also, you may view the document at
any of the public facilities listed in Appendix A of the Draft RP/EA
#5.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments on the Draft RP/EA #5
by one of the following methods:
Via the Web: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-areas/louisiana;
Via U.S. Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box
29649, Atlanta, GA 30345. Please note that mailed comments must be
postmarked on or before the comment deadline given in DATES;
During the public webinar: Comments may be provided in
writing online during the webinar. Webinar information is provided
above in DATES.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration--Mel Landry, NOAA Restoration Center, 225-425-0583,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater
Horizon, which was being used to drill a well for BP Exploration and
Production, Inc. (BP), in the Macondo prospect (Mississippi Canyon 252-
MC252), experienced a significant explosion, fire, and subsequent
sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in an unprecedented volume of
oil and other discharges from the rig and from the wellhead on the
seabed. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest off shore oil
spill in U.S. history, discharging millions of barrels of oil over a
period of 87 days. In addition, well over one million gallons of
dispersants were applied to the waters of the spill area in an attempt
to disperse the spilled oil. An undetermined amount of natural gas was
also released into the environment as a result of the spill.
The Deepwater Horizon Federal and State natural resource trustees
(DWH Trustees) conducted the natural resource damage assessment (NRDA)
for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under OPA (OPA; 33 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.). Pursuant to OPA, Federal and State agencies act as trustees on
behalf of the public to assess natural resource injuries and losses and
to determine the actions required to compensate the public for those
injuries and losses. OPA further instructs the designated trustees to
develop and implement a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation,
replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent of the injured natural
resources under their trusteeship, including the loss of use and
services from those resources from the time of injury until the time of
restoration to baseline (the resource quality and conditions that would
exist if the spill had not occurred) is complete.
The Deepwater Horizon Trustees are:
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), as represented by
the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau
of Land Management;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on
behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce;
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA);
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority, Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, Department of Environmental
Quality, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Department of
Natural Resources;
State of Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality;
State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources and Geological Survey of Alabama;
State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and
State of Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas
General Land Office, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The Trustees reached and finalized a settlement of their natural
resource damage claims with BP in an April 4, 2016, Consent Decree
approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Louisiana. Pursuant to that Consent Decree, restoration projects in
the Louisiana Restoration Area are now selected and implemented by the
Louisiana TIG. The Louisiana TIG is composed of the following Federal
Trustees: NOAA; DOI; EPA; and USDA.
Background
The Draft RP/EA #5 is being released in accordance with OPA NRDA
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 15 CFR part
990, NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Consent Decree, and the Final
PDARP/PEIS, which provided for an overall goal of ``Replenish and
Protect Living Coastal Marine Resources.'' This restoration planning
activity is proceeding in accordance with the PDARP/PEIS, which
provided for various types of restoration, including restoration of
marine mammals and oysters. Information on the Restoration Types being
considered in the Draft RP/EA #5, as well as the OPA criteria against
which project ideas are being evaluated, can be viewed in the PDARP/
PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan) and in the Overview of the PDARP/PEIS (http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan).
For the Draft RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG assembled a list of 193
project alternatives for the restoration of marine mammals and 36
project alternatives for the restoration of oysters. These alternatives
were based on proposals
[[Page 16080]]
from the public as well as agencies, including projects submitted to
the DWH Trustee or Louisiana TIG portals and projects submitted by
individual state and Federal Trustees, including projects submitted on
behalf of non-Trustee agencies. All alternatives underwent a step-wise
screening process based on criteria established by OPA and the
Louisiana TIG, whereby projects that did not meet the criteria were
eliminated, and duplicative alternatives were combined. This resulted
in two action alternatives for marine mammals and four action
alternatives for oysters, each of which are evaluated in the Draft RP/
EA #5. Alternatives that meet the criteria but are not carried forward
as preferred alternatives may be considered in future restoration
plans.
Overview of the Louisiana TIG Draft RP/EA #5
The Draft RP/EA considers two action alternatives for restoration
of marine mammals. The preferred alternative is entitled, ``Increasing
Capacity and Expanding Partnerships along the Louisiana Coastline for
Marine Mammal Stranding Response.'' This project would enable rapid
response to injured and dead cetaceans in the state and better
understand the causes of mortality and morbidity by hiring a Louisiana-
based Stranding Coordinator that will build partnerships and conduct
outreach; and by providing infrastructure, equipment, and supplies
needed to facilitate stranding response and improve rehabilitation
capabilities. The project should increase the number of stranding
reports and improve their quality as a result of timelier responses.
The project would have a 5-year project life and a cost of $3,955,620.
The non-preferred alternative for marine mammal restoration is
entitled, ``Region-wide Marine Mammal Conservation Medicine and Health
Program.'' This project would improve understanding of Louisiana-
specific risks for illness and death among cetaceans, and assess and
implement future health intervention techniques by establishing a
working group; providing regular training sessions and workshops for
the stranding network and researchers; and developing and implementing
a study plan for live capture and release health assessments of free-
ranging cetaceans. The project would have a 5-year project life and a
cost of $6,334,000.
The Draft RP/EA #5 considers four action alternatives for
restoration of oysters, including three preferred alternatives. The
first is entitled, ``Enhancing Oyster Recovery Using Brood Reefs.'' A
network of spawning stock oyster reefs would be constructed in two
phases: (1) Two reefs would be constructed in the Lake Machais/
Mozambique Point area along with two reefs in the Petit Pass/Bay
Boudreaux area. Each reef would be 10 acres in size and 1.2 m from
bottom; and (2) up to 20 reefs would be constructed in Chandeleur
Sound, with each reef 0.5 acres in size and 0.5-1.2 m from bottom. All
constructed reefs would be closed to harvest but located near
harvesting areas to promote connectivity. The project would have a 2-
year construction period, followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a
project cost of $9,701,447.
The second preferred alternative for oyster restoration is
entitled, ``Cultch Plant Oyster Restoration Projects.'' This project
would create oyster reefs at various sites through placement of
limestone at a planting density of up to 200 tons per acre with harvest
closed until certain performance criteria are met. There would be a
200-acre site at Public Oyster Seed Ground (POSG) in the Grand Banks
area of Mississippi Sound; a 200-acre site at Caillou Lake Public
Oyster Seed Reservation (POSR) in Terrebonne Parish; and up to 400
acres of clean limestone cultch material would be constructed at each
of four historic reefs within POSGs in the Biloxi Marsh Complex in St.
Bernard Parish: Drum Bay, Three Mile Bay, Karako Bay, and Morgan
Harbor. Oyster reefs could be constructed at other POSGs or POSRs in
the future. The project would have a 2-year construction period,
followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a project cost of $10,070,000.
The third preferred alternative for oyster restoration is entitled,
``Hatchery-based Oyster Restoration Projects.'' This project would
provide $5,850,000 in funding over ten years to support continued
operations at the Michael C. Voisin Oyster Hatchery in Grand Isle,
Louisiana with spat-on-shell deployment of hatchery-produced oysters
deployment onto existing shell substrate in POSGs or POSRs that are
low-producing or in need of rehabilitation. The hatchery estimates
production of at least 500 million diploid oyster larvae per year, of
which a minimum of 25 percent would be dedicated for use in oyster
restoration activities within areas protected from harvest.
An additional action alternative for oyster restoration, entitled
``Caillou Lake Artificial Reef,'' was also evaluated. This project
would provide for construction of approximately 21 miles of eight to
ten-foot artificial oyster reef (using gabions with limestone or shell)
along the shorelines of Caillou Lake most susceptible to erosion in
order to replenish oysters and armor the shoreline. The project would
involve three phases: (1) Construct approximately seven miles of reef
along the northern end of the central island in the land bridge; (2)
construct another seven miles consisting of two, two-mile sections to
the east and west of the Phase I reef and three miles along the
southern shoreline of the central island in the land bridge; (3)
construct approximately five miles of reef to the west of the southern,
three-mile section of Phase II, and another two miles of reef to the
east. Intermittent breaks between reef segments would be constructed to
allow for movement of aquatic species between the marine habitat,
shoreline, and freshwater spawning and rearing habitats, and to prevent
entrapment. The project would involve a 2.5-year construction period,
followed by 4 years of monitoring, with a project cost of $23,595,000.
The funding proposed for implementation of oyster restoration under
the trustees' proposed preferred alternative represents a commitment of
all remaining available funding for oyster restoration in the Louisiana
Restoration Area. The programmatic structure of the proposed oyster
cultch and brood reef projects would allow the trustees to continue to
construct specific reef sites in the future. In alignment with the
PDARP, the trustees may propose projects in the future that benefit
oysters through the wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats
restoration allocation.
For both marine mammal restoration and oysters, the Draft RP/EA #5
evaluates a No Action Alternative, under which no project would be
constructed and no additional costs would be incurred at this time.
The Louisiana TIG has examined the injuries assessed by the DWH
Trustees and evaluated restoration alternatives to address the
injuries. In Draft RP/EA #5, the Louisiana TIG presents to the public
its draft plan for providing partial compensation to the public for
injured natural resources and ecological services in the Louisiana
Restoration Area. The proposed action is intended to continue the
process of using DWH restoration funding to restore natural resources
injured or lost as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Additional restoration planning for the Louisiana Restoration Area will
continue.
[[Page 16081]]
Next Steps
The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RP/EA
#5. A public webinar to facilitate the public review and comment
process, is scheduled for April 8, 2020. After the public comment
period ends, the Louisiana TIG will consider and address comments
received before issuing a Final RP/EA #5. A summary of comments
received and the Louisiana TIG's responses and any revisions to the
document, as appropriate, will be included in the final document.
Administrative Record
The documents comprising the Administrative Record for the Draft
RP/EA #5 can be viewed electronically at http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/adminrecord.
Authority
The authority of this action is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and its implementing Oil Pollution Act Natural
Resource Damage Assessment regulations found at 15 CFR part 990 and the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
Dated: March 13, 2020.
Carrie Selberg,
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-05725 Filed 3-19-20; 8:45 am]
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